Traditionally people have referred to green driving licences as “provisional licences” but in 2006 they were rebranded as “learner permits”. The change in name is, no doubt, intended to suggest a key difference between a driving licence and a learner permit: the latter “has effect in accordance with its terms and conditions“. This simple statement is important and has continually raised a question: if the terms and conditions of a learner permit are not observed, is the driver unlicensed?

There are a number of specific offences which a learner driver can commit, such as not displaying L plates or driving unaccompanied. These offences are frequently committed and drivers are often prosecuted for them. However, there is also an offence which anyone can commit of driving without a driving licence. Just as people have traditionally referred to the “provisional licence”, it has traditionally been thought that if one holds a learner permit one is licensed, whether or not one observes the terms and conditions applicable to it.

Gardaí and solicitors have argued this point repeatedly but it has recently been clarified in the High Court: if you hold a learner permit and drive in breach of its terms and conditions it is temporarily ineffective and you are guilty of driving without a driving licence.

The penalties for driving without a licence are not overly severe, in that you do not face automatic disqualification from driving for example, but a follow-on issue arises: if your policy of insurance requires that you are a licensed driver, and you drive in breach of the terms and conditions attaching to a learner permit, are you still insured? A conviction for driving without insurance is more serious than one for driving without a licence and carries a disqualification.

This was the second element to the case and, fortunately for learner drivers, the outcome was that the fact that a learner permit might be temporarily ineffective does not necessarily invalidate the insurance policy. The wording of the policy, as ever, is crucial. In this case, the policy certificate provided that the defendant’s driving was covered “provided that [he] holds a licence to drive such a vehicle or, having held such a licence, is not disqualified from holding such a licence.” The terms and conditions apply to the learner permit, not the driver, and so he held a licence entitling him to drive the vehicle. The insurance “was not made conditional in its terms on the accused complying with the terms of a learner permit licence.”

This settles a question which has been arising quite frequently in District Courts over the past few years. It is also a reminder that drivers should familiarise themselves both with the terms and conditions of a learner permit and an insurance certificate before driving.